County may allow banned fireworks sales to non-county residents

LAS CRUCES — Doña Ana County commissioners on Tuesday may revise a countywide fireworks rule to allow certain year-round fireworks vendors to once again sell aerial fireworks and firecrackers.

However, county residents still wouldn't be allowed to buy them or use them.

Now, there's only one vendor — Bowlin Old West Trading Post off Interstate 10 west of Las Cruces — that would benefit from the narrowly crafted, proposed rule change.

The proposal would allow year-round fireworks retailers that are located within one-quarter mile of an interstate exit ramp to sell aerial and so-called ground-audible fireworks to non-county residents only, according to the measure. Those types have been banned in the unincorporated parts of the county since 2007.

County Commission Chairwoman Karen Perez said when the county first passed the more-restrictive fireworks ordinance, known as safe and sane, "there was an assumption that Anthony, (N.M.), and the other communities would follow suit." However, some municipalities still allow the aerial and ground-audible fireworks to be sold, she said, and that has meant Bowlin Old West Trading Post is "being disadvantaged, from an economic standpoint."

Perez said Tuesday's measure is an attempt to balance both public safety with economic development and jobs.

It's "100 percent because of the economic aspect," she said. "I don't want anyone to think we're trying to undermine the safe and sane ordinance. That's not it at all; we're trying to balance it with business.

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The measure, if it passes, would sunset in two years, unless it's renewed by county commissioners before then, according to the proposal. Perez said the idea behind that is to test out the revision.

The Doña Ana County Commission in 2008 also considered relaxing the ban on aerial and ground-audible sales, by granting an exemption to year-round retailers who sold to out-of-area residents. The proposal, in a 3-2 vote, didn't clear its first reading.

In the most-recent proposal, there are requirements for the retailer to post a notice about the fact aerial and ground audible fireworks aren't allowed to be possessed inside Doña Ana County, according to the measure. Also, retailers would have to require that buyers show a picture ID with an address outside Doña Ana County, according to the proposal.

County Commissioner Wayne Hancock said he doesn't want the process of checking whether a potential buyer is a non-county resident to be too intrusive.

Also, Hancock said, "the issue is to try to make sure we don't undermine other policies."

Hancock acknowledged that there may be Doña Ana County residents who have Texas IDs, given the cross-state connections.

"What we really want to do is make people understand that, if you're caught with this, there are penalties," he said, of Doña Ana County residents buying banned fireworks.

If the revised measure passes, it would take effect 30 days afterward, according to the proposal.

The meeting starts at 9 a.m. Tuesday at the Doña Ana County Government Center, 845 N. Motel Blvd., Las Cruces.

Diana Alba Soular can be reached at (575) 541-5443; follow her on Twitter @AlbaSoular